Xu Xiaoshou had long stopped thinking of himself as a good person, as he'd gotten too much blood on his hands.

However, seeing his own sister-in-training almost get killed right before his eyes had ignited the fury deep inside him all the same.

He knew that the best course of action to take at the moment was probably to pick his sister-in-training up and immediately run.

Yet he didn't do so.

So long as they're alive, and so long as their blood runs warm, people need to stand their ground.

The temperature of the Senluo Woods at the moment was extremely high, and the tract of woods where they were standing had already been reduced to a wasteland. There was nothing to be seen inside the charring flames, as everything around had all been reduced to nothing by the high temperatures.

The ordinary power of thought and Sharpness were gathered in his hand, and there were compressed flames above each of his fists.

At the moment, Xu Xiaoshou was all ready to fight.

“Who are you?” he asked while focusing and getting ready to make his move.

The grey mist figure seemed to be chuckling in a low tone, and the mist on its body was dancing. After quite a while, that indistinct voice was heard again. “I think you'll be quite terrified to learn who I am. I'm the…”

Swoop!

In the blink of an eye, Xu Xiaoshou came behind that grey mist figure. He never intended to hold a conversation with that thing to begin with; he simply asked that question so the grey mist figure would let down its guard while it responded.

He tightened his chest and twisted his hips using the force from his legs to hit the thing on the back and on the head with both fists.

“Like I care who the h*ll you are! Die already!”

The grey mist figure was caught off guard. It actually fell for it. Unable to defend itself in time, it was immediately sent flying.

Xu Xiaoshou was actually able to hear the sound of bones cracking.

“Very well. That one's for my sister!”

That grey mist figure immediately spat out blood.

It was completely confused.

'What the f**k is this guy pulling all of a sudden?' it thought. 'Is he really not curious about my true ident.i.ty?'

“Furthermore, couldn't you have at least let me finish my line?”

Cursed, Pa.s.sive Points +1.

The grey mist figure's powers had broken through to Master Level, yet Xu Xiaoshou's Master Physique was also nothing to scoff at.

It actually took quite a while for the grey mist figure to regain its composure from taking two simultaneous punches.

It was fortunate for it that the sealing qi emanating from the surface of its body had been able to negate part of the damage. Otherwise, it probably would've dropped to its knees from that one hit alone.

But the grey mist figure had no time to fret over the intense pain it was feeling all over. The grey mist figure willed and very quickly twisted its body about, throwing both its hands out at Xu Xiaoshou and blasting a great whiff of grey mist at him.

This wasn't an attack. It was a defensive move.

This was because Xu Xiaoshou, who was standing far away, had drawn his sword after throwing those punches.

“Thousand Leaves Style, Blade-draw Technique, Black Falls Slas.h.!.+”

Swooooopp!

He slashed his sword at the air, which brought about a sword aura blast like an army riding out into battle. The grey mist figure was stunned.

The move was so quick, and it looked like it was tearing through s.p.a.ce itself as it slashed toward his face.

'The h*ll,' he thought. 'This power is probably above that of a Master Level spiritual technique, man!'

'What the h*ll is with this kid!? How is he able to beat me up like this?'

The grey mist figure's sealing aura immediately burst outward, cranking up several levels.

“Barrier of Three Heavens!”

Intense mist wrapped around the incoming blast of sword aura as it tore through the air, and the attack actually failed to tear through the Barrier of Three Heavens' defense.

Clang, clang, clang…

Snapping sounds were heard, and the grey mist figure smirked. It looked past the blast of sword aura and said dismissively, “There is nothing in this world that I could not seal.”

“Hehe, is that so?” Xu Xiaoshou asked, a faint smile on his face. “Do you know what art is?”

The grey mist figure was baffled. It was finding it difficult to keep up with the young man's thoughts. Was it no longer able to keep up with the times because it'd been asleep for so long?

It looked at the Barrier of Three Heavens blocking off all that sword aura blast and answered proudly, “Art is all about 'sealing.'”

Xu Xiaoshou shook his head and threw his sword upward.

“You're wrong.”

“Art is all about explosions!”

After these words fell, the grey mist figure, who was inside its Barrier of Three Heavens, became stunned, as he suddenly realized that in addition to the stinging pain in its back, there also seemed to be a terrifying energy imprinted on it.

“Lesser Fireball, explode!”

Xu Xiaoshou snapped his fingers.

Boom!

Boom!

Rumbling explosions erupted.

The explosions took place from within the protection of the barrier, which pushed all the sword aura up into the air. The grey mist figure was completely shocked as it was sent flying yet again.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Xu Xiaoshou finally got to see that thing get injured. As he'd expected, the sealing power was indeed very powerful when actively used.

However, he could nonetheless still hurt that thing if its defense was a pa.s.sive one.

But…

The thing was using Mo Mo's body.

Xu Xiaoshou grabbed Hiding Pain, which was falling from the sky, and frowned, feeling that it would be difficult for him to dish any more hits.

The mushroom cloud parted, and the grey mist figure appeared again, revealing a sinister look.

It'd never expected itself to be caught in a ditch within the time span of a single question to where Xu Xiaoshou could keep drawing blood.

It wondered just how many years it's been since something like that had happened.

That man was but a youngster with Innate Level powers, yet he'd been able to hurt it all the same.

It swore that it would definitely make him pay.

“Xu Xiaoshou, I take it. You're done for…”

Hmm!

Before it was able to finish talking, the grey mist figure shuddered, and blood leaked out of the corners of its mouth.

It looked in front of itself and saw no one around.

It then slowly turned its head around.

Clack!

Xu Xiaoshou was sheathing his sword behind the grey mist figure, and his voice was heard gently saying, “Withering Snow of the West Wind.”

“Huh?”

The grey mist figure cradled its neck in disbelief, yet it was futile.

Pfftt!

Blood immediately gushed.

It felt like its head had just been split in half.

It conjured sealing power and immediately sealed the wound up, yet the intense pain was still there. The grey mist figure felt dizzy and like it might faint.

“Black Pattern, Self-binding Art.”

A mark appeared on that thing's chest, and black patterns instantly spread all over its body, making it look incredibly frightening.

All of its injuries actually stopped altogether after the black patterns managed to spread all over its body.

The injuries weren't healed; they were simply stopped.

It was the same as telling oneself, “Quit bleeding. I'm in the middle of a fight. You can bleed afterward,” and then it actually stops bleeding right then and there.

Xu Xiaoshou finished sheathing his sword, and when he saw this scene, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Naturally, knowing that the grey mist figure's body was actually Mo Mo's, he'd chosen not to cut the thing's head off right then and there. Yet he was still baffled at how the thing had stopped its injuries.

'D*mn,' he thought. 'Now I've seen everything.'

The power of sealing. Was that really something that could seal everything? So much so that it could halt injuries? Xu Xiaoshou gulped, as he knew that things were taking a turn for the worse.

That thing, which should have sustained ma.s.sive injuries, had held on to its half-snapped neck and hardly looked different from how it had before.

No.

If one were to pay close attention, they'd see that something actually was different.

He could tell that the fury in its eyes had almost taken solid form.

“Hehe, that's just a prank. No need to be serious.”

Xu Xiaoshou crossed his arms in front of his chest and chuckled. “I didn't know you were actually so powerful. Well, then, let's get back to where we left off.”

“Umm, you said something about your name? What is it, then?”

The grey mist figure was so stunned that it wobbled, and blood seeped out of its neck again, making Xu Xiaoshou's skin crawl.

'Dude, that wasn't my intention!' he thought.

“Gentlemen don't fight with their hands. We can just talk this out. Whoever gets physical will be the one in the wrong.”

“Holy sh**?”